While I agree with the psychologist's views to a certain extent - the
"every kid gets a prize" thing does my head in - if the flipside is that
young girls lose interest in playing sport then I'm a bit torn because I
believe that the more kids you can keep active into their teens, the
better.

My daughter is not in an A-side, but her year of playing rep has
brought many benefits that she otherwise may not have experienced - new
friends, new coaches who took a different approach
with her, increased confidence which has helped her off the court, and
learning to deal with a different level of sustained pressure over a
full day which can only help her going forward. All at a time when her
body was starting to change and all the issues that come with that.
She liked that they got a participation award from every tournament -
who wouldn't! - but is fully aware that she wasn't playing A grade, and
that under-13 is a different kettle of fish, assuming she even gets into
a squad next year.

So there's a balance to be achieved between "false
impressions of their own abilities" and the benefits. I hear a lot of
"they didn't do that in my day" and that's true - but how many kids
dropped out of sport in their day compared to now?